Connecticut Redistricting Gets More Time

The Connecticut Supreme Court extended a bipartisan redistricting panel’s deadline to complete the state’s Congressional map, according to the Connecticut Mirror.

The panel’s previous deadline, Wednesday, lapsed. The new deadline is Dec. 21.

If the panel cannot come to an agreement on a plan, the state’s Supreme Court has the power to draw the district lines.

Until Wednesday, one of the most prominent candidates in the 5th district’s open seat race, state Speaker Christopher Donovan (D), had been a member of the redistricting panel. He stepped down from that position, telling the Mirror, “My goal is to get the maps done. I want to avoid politics and encourage a bipartisan process.”

Other candidates had been critical of Donovan for wearing the hats of both mapmaker and candidate. Republican candidate Mark Greenberg issued a statement Thursday accusing Donovan of engaging in “a blatant and egregious conflict of interest.”

He described Donovan and his replacement on the panel, state House Majority Leader Brendan Sharkey as “thick as thieves” and said Sharkey would do Donovan’s bidding in his absence.